Autistic Joy

16 Sept

Autistic joy 101

Autistic joy is not just about happiness, it’s about experiencing life in a way that is deeply authentic to one’s autistic identity. ‘Joy’ as a general concept can be defined as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. Autistic joy also encompasses the intense and sometimes full-body experience of happiness and excitement experienced by autistic people when engaging in activities or experiences that they align deeply with. Autistic joy is often characterised by unrestrained expression or intense hyperfocus, and it can appear in ways not usually expected in social situations, which are features that distinguish autistic joy from joy as a general human emotion.

Sources of autistic joy

Sources of autistic joy include: the intense delight of engaging in or talking about a special interest, the all encompassing positive feelings associated with stimming and sensory seeking activities, the feeling of connection to other people or to animals, being in nature, finding neurokin and being able to completely unmask and be one’s authentic autistic self. In reality sources of autistic joy may be as many and varied as autistic people are themselves!

How to seek out (or support loved ones to seek out) autistic joy

Being affirming - allowing yourself or your loved one to express your/their authentic autistic identity without holding back. When autistic people feel able to be themselves and are celebrated for this, rather than being held to neurotypical standards, it is likely to promote a positive sense of self and create the opportunities to experience autistic joy. Some of my most satisfying experiences as a clinical psychologist working with autistic adult clients, have been to help them embrace their authentic selves (sometimes after many years of not knowing this about themselves). You can find more information about therapy services here.

Celebrating the sensory - seeking out and encouraging positive sensory experiences based on your/your loved one’s unique preferences. For families this could include setting up sensory friendly spaces which include sensory items and fidgets, weighted blankets and squishies. Having these items available and accessible in the home means that autistic family members can attend to their sensory needs and preferences. Acknowledging sensory needs is another way of being affirming, assisting with self-awareness and the ability to advocate for oneself in situations outside the home and contributes to creating a positive sense of identity as an autistic individual.

Deep dive - giving time to explore special interests and talk about them to others can be a source of autistic joy (remembering that info-dumping is an autistic love language!). Some autistic children and young people have special interests that revolve around screen usage which can create concerns for their parents. For more information on autism and screen time see this link. At TKC we love to support our clients to deep dive into their special interests. We are offering a range of activities over the school holidays covering all manner of interests from Lego, Slime, Swifties and yoga to name but a few. To explore the groups offered at TKC and book a spot follow this link.

Body-wise - encouraging awareness of bodily based experiences of wellbeing and connection to self and the environment (running, jumping, stretching). Moving the body in ways that support an individual’s needs as an autistic person can create autistic joy. Facilitating these experiences for yourself or your loved ones is another aspect of being affirming and helping to create opportunities for regulation and even flourishing. More information about yoga for autistic people can be found in this blog post.

Natural world - taking time to connect to nature. The old adage of stopping to smell the roses and watch the sunset. Mindfulness is an awareness of the present moment without judgement. Mindfulness may promote awareness of the experience of positive emotions such as joy and glimmers which are small moments in the day that evoke feelings of peace, connection, gratitude or joy. For more information about mindfulness see my previous blog post.

Research into autistic joy

In my own deep dive into autistic joy, I have found that there is a general dearth of research into positive experiences of autistic people. Most research on autism prioritises researcher-defined normative life goals without discovering how much these goals matter to a diverse range of autistic people (Pellicano et al, 2022). This means there is generally a lack of positive emphasis as normative goals tend to focus on where autistic people are “lacking” in comparison to neuronormative standards.

Focusing on the negative is not specific to autism however, as psychology research in relation to all people has traditionally been deficit-focused. More recently, the positive psychology movement has led to a shift into greater understanding of and research into what helps humans to thrive and flourish (rather than focusing solely on what alleviates difficulty and distress). Hopefully the positive psychology of autism can be a focus for future research, including understanding and promoting autistic joy.

Neuro Affirming approaches to autism have framed our understanding from the social model of disability. This approach inherently recognises autistic individuals as being part of the normal variation of human neurodiversity and hence is not deficit-based. A recent scoping review seeking to understand the wellbeing and happiness of autistic individuals from a Neuro Affirming approach (Najeeb & Quadt, 2024) concluded that the most prevalently studied aspects of well-being in autistic people were psychological, and particularly included the role of autonomy, autistic identity, and receiving an autism diagnosis. They report that social support and connectedness were crucial factors in well-being, defying the persistent myth that autistic people do not seek meaningful social interactions. Most publications reviewed in the study focused on populations of autistic adults, whilst there was a significant lack of research conducted with autistic children.

Given the current lack of research into the positive experiences of autistic people, it is hard to draw conclusions about the “science” behind autistic joy. However, in the absence of current scientific evidence we may continue to learn from the lived-experiences of autistic people. To this end, I encourage autistic folk and their loved ones to keep working on promoting autistic joy through connection with authentic autistic identity, positive autistic experiences. Meanwhile, I hope researchers can focus on much needed scientific information to develop our understanding of the positive experiences of autistic adults and children.